Schumer praises Obama drone war

Thanks to President Barack Obama and drones, Al Qaeda is losing, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.

“On terrorism, the president has been tougher than anybody else,” the New York Democrat said on CNN’s “New Day.” “Remember, George Bush wouldn’t let the drones go into Pakistan, and Al Qaeda flourished. The president did, and terrorism is way down. He’s pursuing the tactic in Yemen, and I think it’s working.”

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Schumer said Al Qaeda has been “decimated” in Iraq and Afghanistan, largely because of drones, and now the U.S. will do the same to Al Qaeda in Yemen.

“Give us a little time and they will be decimated as well,” Schumer said. “We’re very good at figuring out what the terrorist is doing and thwarting the plot.”

Schumer said Al Qaeda is on the run, fleeing to other nations, and is in Yemen now because “it is a lawless nation, so they can hide.”

On Monday, the State Department ordered nonessential personnel at the U.S. Embassy and American citizens in Yemen to leave the country as reports came in of American drones in Yemen killing several suspected terrorists. The administration closed 19 diplomatic missions last week and issued a worldwide travel alert “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks.”